Category Archives: Creativity

Post It Note Poetry February 22

February 22 – Tacet

Post It Note Poetry Feb 22

Tacet marked on the score

A signal to stop

To not play

To rest

A moment to listen.

The breath in is held

Counted first then numbered

A paused action

An eternity

Captured

Selah

Post It Note Poetry February 21

February 21 – Fences

Post It Note Poetry Feb 21

I peer between the common
Connection of our backyards
Through the fractured fingers
Of the old paling fence
Splayed out with lichen fingernails
And mossy knuckles
Leaning and bearing the weight
Of the jasmine and wisteria.
I peer into your backyard
Slatted snippets of sight
And wonder if you look into mine

Post It Note Poetry Feb 21A

Took a couple of photos for today’s poem. I liked them both so I included them here.

Creativity Allows for Errors

I watched my daughter sitting at the table colouring in this afternoon. She selected colours at random. The sky was purple; the skin was blue. The lines of demarcation were merely suggestions when it comes to colouring in.

And I didn’t correct it. As a parent it is easy to step in with good intentions and say, “The sky is blue, not purple.”

Or, “A person’s skin colour is pink or brown, not blue.”

She was more interested in colouring in and being creative than “getting it right.”

Being Creative Is A Process, Not Necessarily Getting It Right

When you are doing something creative, don’t worry about “getting it right” on the first attempt.

Enjoy

The process of creating should be enjoyable and fun. Be in the moment and revel in the construction.

Experiment

Creativity is about experimenting and having fun with new ideas. For the month of February I took on the creative challenge to write a poem on a Post It note every day. You can see the results here: Post It Note Poetry.

Errors

Make mistakes. Do it in an unconventional way. Learn how others do it and reverse their process.

And every once in a while, colour outside the lines. You are allowed to, you know.

Post It Note Poetry February 20

February 20 – Conversations

Post It Note Poetry Feb 20

Plucking at the topic

Yet mistimed with

Bum notes and fret buzz

The tuning slightly out creating

Dyssynchronous harmonics.

A pause before plucking

At the topic, adjusting the tuning pegs

So it resonates, oscillates

And runs the arpeggios

In synchronous harmony.

Post It Note Poetry February 19

February 19 – Dance Concert

Post It Note Poetry Feb 19

Plumage of tulle

Bunched around bottoms

The perfect formation

Of conglomeration

Packed together

Cygnets learning to fly

In formation

By huddling together

 

This poem was inspired by the eucalyptus tree in blossom outside the office where I work.

Post It Note Poetry Feb 19

I have two young daughters who love to dance and the bunch of blossoms reminded me of children’s dance concerts where they haven’t quite learned spacial awareness and clump together on stage.

If you are a native Antipodean, it will also remind you of May Gibbs’ creation, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie

Post It Note Poetry February 18

February 18 – Today’s Lesson

Post It Note Poetry Feb 18

A quick kiss

Of spousal affection

Snaffled in the kitchen.

Two young daughters

Laugh hysterically

And learn a lesson

Untaught by books

Post It Note Poetry February 17

February 17 – The Paper Bark Tree

 Post It Note Poetry Feb 17

Layers peeling from the spine

A well-thumbed text with

Words on pages I cannot read

Interpreted through

The rustled utterances

Of the leaves

Unfolding their meaning

Of Nature’s gospel

Post It Note Poetry February 16

February 16 – Give Me Shelter

Post It Note Poetry Feb 16

The roof above and the carpet below

Tell a similar story:

Cracked, lined, riddled with moisture

Stained, spotted and worn away

Peeling back to the roots of

Skeletal rafters and joists

This threadbare flesh of two hands

Cradling and sheltering while I sleep

Post It Note Poetry February 15

February 15 – Grammatical Time

Post It Note Poetry Feb 15

Living in the constant present tense

In absence of the past “was”

No anticipation of the future “will be”

Only the moment of “is.”

A vision is a memory

A dream is a legacy

The sundial’s shadow stalled

Held by a breath

Waiting for the second hand

In the constant present tense

Post It Note Poetry February 14

February 14 – The Runner

Post It Note Poetry Feb 14

Plodding the painted parallel lines

Rhythm of footfall while

Running against the clock.

In circles she cycles

The seasons through each turn.

Crossing the line she starts again

The distance to the end undetermined